Chapter 63: The Invitation He Gave

Rong Ci lightly covered her nose, then set her hand down as if nothing had happened, stepping back slightly to increase the distance between them.

Feng Tingshen seemed not to notice her series of movements; he took the invitation, opened it, and glanced at it: “Seventieth birthday?”

Rong Ci: “Mm.” Here, she did not ask him as before whether he had time, nor plead with him to spare some time for the birthday banquet—she simply said: “Tell my parents for me.”

It was unclear whether Feng Tingshen had noticed that she had not asked whether he could free up time that evening.

He looked at her, then set the invitation aside casually and said: “Understood.”

With that, he turned and walked into the bathroom.

Rong Ci glanced at his back, put away the hairdryer, and went to Feng Jingxin’s room to bathe her.

After bathing and washing Feng Jingxin’s hair, drying it, nearly an hour had passed.

Feng Jingxin hugged her arm and curled into her lap, asking if she could sleep with her that night.

Given her current situation with Feng Tingshen, what did “could” or “couldn’t” even mean?

Rong Ci returned to the master bedroom, gathered her things, and as she left, told Feng Tingshen: “I’m sleeping in Jingxin’s room.”

Feng Tingshen was reading; he responded with a soft “Mm,” asked no further questions, and made no effort to stop her.

The next day.

After breakfast, Rong Ci took Feng Jingxin to school as requested, then returned to the company.

The old lady’s birthday was approaching, but for over a month she had been busy handling company affairs and had not yet bought a gift.

At lunch, Rong Ci called Chu Zilang and invited her to go shopping that evening for a gift.

Upon hearing Rong Ci was buying a birthday present for her grandmother, Chu Zilang immediately agreed.

She had not yet delivered the invitation to Feng Tinglin.

After hanging up, Rong Ci called Feng Tinglin.

The call connected, but no one answered.

Rong Ci knew Feng Tinglin disliked her—and all the Rong family—she disliked them all.

Feng Tinglin not answering could very well mean she was deliberately ignoring the call.

Still, out of respect for Old Lady Feng, she had to follow the proper procedure.

After the call ended naturally, Rong Ci called again.

This time, the call was hung up immediately.

Rong Ci understood: Feng Tinglin was deliberately refusing to answer.

Rong Ci didn’t care.

She was only going through the motions.

She composed a message to Feng Tinglin, explaining why she had called and asking when she was free so she could deliver the invitation.

After sending the message, Rong Ci did not wait for a reply and continued with her work.

That evening, after dinner with Chu Zilang, they shopped for a long time but found nothing Rong Ci was satisfied with.

Chu Zilang suddenly said: “There’s a charity auction the night after tomorrow—why not wait and see then?”

“But I don’t have an invitation…”

Chu Zilang looked troubled: “The auction invitations were sent out half a month ago; getting one now is difficult. Still, what if you…”

Chu Zilang’s meaning was clear.

She meant Rong Ci should ask Feng Tingshen for help.

At just after nine that night, after parting from Chu Zilang, Rong Ci ultimately returned to Feng Tingshen’s villa.

When she arrived, she discovered Feng Tingshen had already come back.

He was busy in his study.

Rong Ci knew he forbade her from approaching his study, so she waited in the bedroom, reading.

It was nearly one a.m. before Feng Tingshen returned.

Seeing him come in, Rong Ci put down her book and looked at him; Feng Tingshen, noticing, asked coolly: “Something you need?”

Rong Ci did not beat around the bush: “I heard there’s a charity auction at Zhonghua in two days—”

Feng Tingshen elegantly removed his tie, glanced at her, and said: “You want an invitation to the auction?”

Rong Ci paused: “Yes.”

“Understood.”

With that, Feng Tingshen turned and went to the walk-in closet, then entered the bathroom to bathe shortly after.

His swift agreement surprised her.

Still, since he had agreed, she felt at ease.

It was late; she put down her book, lay on the bed, and fell asleep before Feng Tingshen finished bathing.

Since the auction was the day after tomorrow, the next evening, after leaving Changmo, Rong Ci returned to the villa.

But when she arrived, Feng Tingshen was not home—only Feng Jingxin was.

Seeing her return, Feng Jingxin clung to her, begging her to cook something delicious.

Rong Ci agreed.

After dinner, the butler came to her and said: “Madam, someone just delivered this for you.”

Rong Ci opened it and looked.

It was the invitation to tomorrow’s Zhonghua charity auction.

Feng Tingshen had truly gotten it for her.

And there were two.

But since he had someone deliver it back, did that mean he wouldn’t be returning tonight?

As she thought this, Rong Ci’s phone buzzed twice.

Chu Zilang had sent her two WeChat messages.

Rong Ci opened them and froze.

It was a screenshot from Moments.

The screenshot showed a photo: under a brilliant fireworks display, Lin Wu’s sweet, smiling profile and Feng Tingshen’s back, with the caption: “The fireworks tonight were beautiful.”

In the photo, faintly visible were several other couples among the crowd.

Clearly, the fireworks festival Lin Wu mentioned was a popular spot for romantic dates.

While Lin Wu wrote that the fireworks were beautiful, her sweet, joyful expression made it obvious: the fireworks may have been beautiful, but her mood was even more so.

Because she had Feng Tingshen with her.

Feng Tingshen hadn’t returned because he had gone on a date with Lin Wu—and hadn’t even brought Feng Jingxin along…

Rong Ci stared, her heart calm, yet she felt puzzled and sent Chu Zilang a message:

【Did you add Lin Wu as a friend?】

Otherwise, how did you get a screenshot of her Moments?

【I have a friend who knows her; she mentioned it, so I asked her to send me a screenshot.】

What Chu Zilang didn’t say was that her friend was now utterly envious of Lin Wu.

Because nearly everyone in their circle now knew Lin Wu had attached herself to Feng Tingshen—and that he adored her, treating her like a treasure.

Thinking of the extra invitation, Rong Ci sent another message to Chu Zilang, asking if she wanted to attend the auction together tomorrow.

Chu Zilang immediately replied excitedly: “Of course I’ll go!”

That night, Feng Tingshen did not return.

Rong Ci had guessed as much.

After all, he had gone out on a date with Lin Wu; after the fireworks, they would surely have an even more beautiful, sweet night together.

Since Feng Tingshen wasn’t home, it was fine for her to sleep alone in the bedroom.